Castle Hosts Kaiser In Key OIA Conference Game April 4
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usPrep baseball’s post-season is still many weeks away, but a playoff atmosphere should nevertheless be in place on Friday (3:30 p.m.) when Castle hosts Kaiser in a key Oahu Interscholastic Association Red East Conference game in Kaneohe.
The Knights, who took a 4-2 record into last weekend, trailed Kailua by game through the OIA’s first round. On Tuesday, Castle was to play a road game against the league-leading Surfriders. Although Castle co-head coach Chad Uyehara stopped well short of over-hyping those match-ups, he knows that wins against both teams would be huge for the Knights.
“Those are big games - they (Kailua and Kaiser) have the lead right now,” said Uyehara, who shares the coaching duties with fellow co-head coach Brent Taniguchi. “We never take anything for granted. We know we have to bring our ‘A’ game every day.”
Uyehara and Castle spent the pre-season more preoccupied with injury reports than with scouting reports on the opposition, but the cloud has lifted recently, according to Uyehara. The Knights have been eagerly anticipating the return of Josh Serano to their pitching rotation after an injury slowed him, and Uyehara expects him to figure big in his plans during the second half of the season.
“We’re definitely counting on that,” Uyehara said of having Serrano back at full speed. “We’ve been getting him ready by having him work in the bullpen, and he really wants to throw. We’ll be an exceptional team with Josh back.”
Serrano was solid in his much-anticipated debut last Tuesday in Castle’s win over McKinley, working three full innings.
“For his first performance, I thought he was very good,” Uyehara said of Serano. “He looked comfortable up there.”
As it is, the Knights have been playing some of their best baseball of the season lately, with three straight wins over Moanalua (11-1), Kalani (8-5) and McKinley (14-3) since a loss to Kailua on March 8.
Most encouraging for Castle has been its offensive output with three double-digit scoring efforts in its first six league games. All tolled, in its wins over Moanalua, Kalani and McKinley alone recently, Castle combined for 33 runs on 33 hits.
“Our offense is starting to come around,” Uyehara said. “We don’t expect to have double-digit games very often, but it helps when you do. Hitters we knew could hit are finally hitting. Both Kainoa Tom and Coby Agres had break-out games, recently, and we’ve been getting a lot of people on base and drawing a lot of walks.”
On the mound, veterans Pulama Silva and Bryan Raines have carried the load, meanwhile. Uyehara was not certain who would start Friday’s game with Kaiser, but he expects the Knights’ defensive play to be a key, given the consistency the Knights’ pitchers have shown this year.
“We have to concentrate on playing good, steady defense to back up our pitchers,” Uyehara said. Castle won the first meeting between the teams, 12-0, March 12 in Hawaii Kai. The lopsided outcome of that encounter figures to ensure that the Knights receive the Cougars’ best effort this time around. “Kaiser’s a real good, steady team,” Uyehara said. “They’ve been consistent every year, which tells you a lot about how well-coached they are.”
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